Veteran suicides comes from limited data

Latest VA estimate of veteran suicides comes from limited data
By MEGAN MCCLOSKEY
Stars and Stripes
Published: February 5, 2013

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is making strides in tracking veteran suicide, but figuring out how many former servicemembers take their own lives is still largely a guessing game. The latest analysis points to an average of 22 veteran suicides per day in 2010, according to a recently released VA study. That’s up from an estimated 18 each day in 2007.

But the stats are based on an incomplete collection of national data. The VA used death certificates from only 21 states – not including California or Texas, home to the largest population of veterans. Women, as well as young, single veterans, are often missing from the data.

Extrapolating a national average from that limited data is premature, said Rajeev Ramchand, a behavioral scientist at the Rand Corporation, a think tank in Washington.

“It’s too much to make that leap,” said Ramchand, who studies military suicide.

Researchers with the VA study acknowledge the shortcomings and warn that the estimates should be “interpreted with caution.” The conclusions derived from the 21 states “may not be [able to generalize] to the larger veteran population,” the researchers wrote.

This is despite the most comprehensive effort ever undertaken to review veteran suicides.
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